Document feeding apparatus



Dec. 2, 1959 J. WANEK DOCUMENT FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 3. 1967 DONALD JWANEK Lav-5M 7 6 4 ATT 0RNEY United States Patent O 3,481,597 DOCUMENT FEEDING APPARATUS Donald J. Wanek, Rochester, Minn., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 672,549 Int. Cl. B65h 3/06 US. Cl. 271-36 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A continuously driven, resilient, compressible feed roll is normally out of contact with a document to be fed. A pair of co-axially mounted shafts are attached to the sides of the feed roll and are slidable relative to each other. When a document is to be fed, the shafts are moved axially relative to each other to compress the resilient feed roll. Compression of the feed roll increases the diameter thereof and brings the peripheral surface into contact with the document to be fed. After the document has been advanced by the feed roll, the shafts are moved so as to restore the feed roll to its non-compressed condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to document feeding apparatus and more particularly to selectively operable document feeding apparatus whereby selective operation is achieved by selectively increasing the diameter of a resilient feed roll to bring the peripheral surface thereof into contact with the document to be fed.

Description of the prior art It has been the practice in prior art document feeding devices to pivot a continuously driven feed roll into contact with the document to be fed. Alternatively, prior art document feeding devices bring the document into contact with a continuously nlnning feed roll such as by moving the document support which is slotted to accommodate the feed roll. Other prior art document feeding devices have utilized a pressure roller assembly incorporating an expansible annular band of frictionable resilient material. A pneumatic system is provided for selectively expanding the annular band into friction contact with the documents to be fed.

The document feeding apparatus of the present invention does not require the pneumatic system for increasing the diameter of the feed roll for the purpose of selectively feeding documents. This provides for a relatively inexpensive feeding device and permits higher speed of operation because an exhaust system for restoring the feed roll toits non-compressed condition is not required. Also, the device is particularly suitable for machines requiring the feed roll to be recessed so as not to obscure printing on a' document when the feed roll is in the non-feeding position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the invention is to provide improved document feeding apparatus which: (a) is relatively simple in construction and inexpensive; (b) can be recessed so as not to obscure any printing on the documents to be fed; (c) is selectively operable; and (d) is operable at relatively high speeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention with the feed roll recessed; FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view in section, with the feed roll in its retracted position;

31,481,597 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view in section with the feed roll exposed and in position to feed a card; FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view in section with the feed roll compressed and in engagement with the card to be fed; FIG. 5 is a partial side elevational view in section of an embodiment of the invention with a non-retractable or non-recessed feed roll; and FIG. 6 is a partial side elevational View in section illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION With reference to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the invention is shown by Way of example as being incorporated into a machine for selectively feeding documents 10 from hopper 11. Hopper 11 includes a platform 12 for supporting cards 10 in a stack. Platform 12 is attached to one end of rod 14 and spring 15 urges the platform 12 upwardly so as to bring the topmost document of the stack into contact with rail 16 which is attached to backplate 17. Rail 16 is provided with a cutout portion 18 to permit recessed feed roll 19 to be projected through when a document is to be fed. In some instances, it is desirable to have the documents fully exposed to the view of the machine operator. This is particularly true in keypunch machines Where the data to be entered into the documents has been written on the documents and the operator must read this information. Hence, by recessing the feed roll, the operator has an unobstructed view of the document.

The top card of the stack when fed from the hopper 11 passes through a throat formed by throat knife 40 and throat block 41. Throat knife 40 and block 41 prevent the feeding of multiple documents. They also assist in the feeding of warped documents. Throat knife 40 is attached to front plate 42. Plate 42 is attached to backplate 17 to extend normally therefrom. Bar 43 which also is attached to extend normally from backplate 17 provides a suitable mount for throat block 41.

The feed roll 19 as seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 has a hollow interior or annular internal cavity 20 which is defined by annular side portions 19a and 19b and by a peripheral connecting portion 19c of the roll 19. A shaft 21 extends through the feed roll 19. A flange 22 connected to the end of shaft 21 seats within a recess 23 formed in one side of feed roll 19. A frictional fit of flange 22 within recess 23 is adequate; however, if desired, the flange 22 can be bonded by suitable adhesive Within recess 23.

Shaft 21 is mounted concentrically within hollow shaft 25. Shaft 25 has a flange 26 at one of its ends. The flange 26 is attached to the other side of the feed roll within recms 27. The manner of attachment can be the same as that for flange 22 in recess 23. Spring 28 maintains feed roll 19 in the recessed or retracted position. One end of spring 28 abuts against collar or C-clip 29. The other end of the spring 28 is seated against sleeve 30.

Sleeve 30 is fixed against axial movement whereas shaft 25 can move bi-directionally along its axis. Both shaft 25 and sleeve 30 can rotate. Toothed pulley 31 is fixed to sleeve 30 by pin 32. Pin 32 passes through slots 33 and 34 in shafts 21 and 25 respectively. By this arrangement, pulley 31, driven via drive pulley 45 and toothed belt 46, rotates shafts 21 and 25 and sleeve 30. Sleeve 30 is mounted for rotation relative to backplate 17 by means of bearings 35. Of course, even though shafts 21 and 25 rotate with pulley 30, they can move axially because of slots 33 and 34.

Axial movement of shafts 21 and 25 is under control of solenoid 50. The ends of solenoid shaft 51 and shaft 25 are suitable recessed to receive ball 52. Spring 28 holds ball 52 in place and functions as the solenoid return spring.

When solenoid 50 is energized, shaft 51 slides shaft 25 along its longitudinal axis. Shaft 21 also slides with shaft 25 until one end of the slot 33 abuts against pin 32 as seen in FIG. 3. Since shaft 21 is restrained against further axial movement, then as shaft 25 continues to move axially, feed roll 19 and spring 39 are compressed as seen in FIG. 4. The use of spring 39 is optional because the resiliency of feed roll 19 is adequate to restore feed roll 19 to its non-compressed condition. Compression of feed roll 19 increases its diameter so that the peripheral surface thereof is brought into frictional contact with the top document 10. In fact, the feed roll bears against the top document with such force so as to move the stack of documents slightly away from rail 16. This is a localized condition and the leading edge of top document is still in position to pass through the throat formed by knife 40 and block 41.

Axial movement of shaft is terminated when one end of slot 34 abuts against pin 32. Energized solenoid 50 holds shaft 25 in this position until feed roll 19 has fed a card to a position where it shields light coming from lamp 56 from photosensitive element 55, see FIG. 1. Card 10 is just entering the bite of cooperating feed rollers 60 as it is being detected by photosensitive element 55. Photosensitive element 55 upon detecting card 10 generates a signal which is utilized to turn solenoid 50 off. The controls for energizing solenoid 50 are not shown; however, they could include a manually operated switch connected to the set input of a latch. The output of the photosensitive element 55 would be connected to the reset input of the latch.

With solenoid 50 de-energized, spring 28 expands to return shaft 25 and solenoid shaft 51 to a home position. As shaft 25 moves axially along its return path, one end of slot 37 formed in shaft 25 engages pin 38 fixed to extend through shaft 21. Thus shaft 25 carries shaft 21 to the home position via pin 38. Slot 37 and pin 38 could be eliminated if feed roll 19 were bonded to flanges 22 and 27.

In FIG. 5, the invention is shown as being embodied with the feed roll 19 normally overlying the document. The solenoid 50 is replaced by a cam 65. Cam 65 is driven from a suitable source, not shown, and can be continuously rotated or it can rotate under the control of a onerevolution clutch. In any event, the profile of the cam is such as to move shaft 25 axially so as to compress feed roll 19 whereby its diameter is increased so that its peripheral surface is brought into frictional contact with the top document. As the cam continues to rotate, the feed roll remains compressed and continues to feed the document until it enters the bite of cooperating feed rollers 60. Further rotation of cam 65 permits shaft 25 to return under action of spring 38 and feed roll 19 restores to its non-compressed condition.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment, a fixed stop and cover plate 80 flank one side of the feed roll. Plate 80 is provided with a protuberance 81 which is received by a mating depression 82 formed in rim plate 83. Rim plate 83 fits within recess 23 of feed roll 19. Gear 84 is fixed to shaft 25 and meshes with driving gear 85. Feed roll 19 is under slight compression so as to maintain the end of shaft 25 n contact with ball 52. Energization of solenoid '50 moves shaft 25 axially to compress feed roll 19. Gear 84 merely slides relative to gear 85 as the two rotate. Gear 85 is fixed to sleeve 86 which in turn is connected to rotate with pulley 87.

It should also be noted that the invention can be embodied in such a manner that feed roll 19 normally is in an operative or feeding position, i.e., normally compressed, and is rendered non-operative by expanding the sides of the feed roll outwardly so as to reduce the diameter thereof.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a document feeding system:

a resilient compressible feed roll,

means for rotating said feed roll,

means for mounting said feed roll for lateral movement of all parts of it along the axis of rotation thereof and out of contact with documents to be fed, and

means responsive to such lateral movement of said feed roll to compress the same to increase the diameter thereof so that the peripheral surface of said feed roll is brought into contact with a document to be fed.

2. In a document feeding system:

a resilient, compressible feed roll,

a first shaft attached to one side of said feed roll,

a second shaft attached to the other side of said feed roll,

means for rotating said feed roll, and

means for sliding said first and second shafts relative to each other to compress said feed roll and thereby increase the diameter thereof.

3. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said first shaft is hollow and said second shaft is mounted coaxially within said first shaft.

4. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for rotating said feed roll rotates the same continuously.

5. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for rotating said feed roll rotates said feed roll by rotating said first and second shafts.

6. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for sliding said first shaft relative to said second shaft is selectively operable.

7. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for sliding said first shaft relative to said second shaft is a solenoid.

8. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for sliding said first shaft relative to said second shaft, first slides said first and second shafts to compress said feed roll and thereafter slides said first and second shafts to restore said feed roll to its non-compressed condition.

9. The document feeding system of claim 2 wherein said means for sliding said first shaft relative to said second shaft is a cam.

10. A document feeding system comprising:

a feed roll of resilient compressible material having an annular cavity therein defined by two annular side portions connected by a peripheral connecting portion;

means for rotating said feed roll; and

means for selectively applying pressure to said side portions of said feed roll to thereby reduce the width of said cavity and increase the diameter of the feed roll so that the peripheral surface of the feed roll is brought into contact with the document to be fed, said means for selectively applying pressure including a shaft attached to one of said side roll portions and a second shaft attached to the other of said side roll portions.

11. A document feeding system as set forth in claim 10 and also comprising means for laterally moving both of said shafts and said feed roll.

12. In a document feeding system, means defining a hopper for holding a stack of document cards,

a resilient compressible feed roll,

shaft means carrying said feed roll and mounted at one side of said hopper so as to be rotatable and so as to be axially shiftable to thereby move said feed roll from a position at one side of the hopper to another position overlying said hopper and document cards,

means for rotatably driving said shaft means and thereby said feed roll, and

means responsive to the axial shifting movement of said shaft means to compress the feed roll and to thereby increase the diameter thereof so that the peripheral surface of the feed roll is brought into contact with a document card to be fed.

13. In a document feeding system as set forth in claim 12, said hopper comprising a backplate on one side of the hopper and said shaft means being rotatably mounted and axially shiftable as aforesaid by means of a bearing carried by said backplate.

14. In a document feeding system as set forth in claim 12, said feeding system including a rail on a side of said hopper for limiting upward movement of the document cards, said rail having an opening therethrough through which said feed roll may move to its said other position overlying said hopper and document cards.

15. In a document feeding system:

a resilient compressible feed roll,

a shaft in driving engagement with one side of said feed roll,

means for drivingly rotating said shaft and thereby said feed roll,

a support for supporting the other side of said feed roll,

and

means for axially moving said shaft toward said support so as to compress said feed roll and thereby increase the diameter thereof so that the peripheral surface of said feed roll is brought into contact with a document to be fed.

16. In a document feeding system:

means defining a hopper for holding a stack of document cards,

a resilient feed roll,

shaft means for carrying said feed roll and mounted at one side of said hopper so as to be rotatable and so as to be axially shiftable to thereby move said feed roll from a position at one side of the hopper to another position overlying said hopper and document cards,

means for rotatably driving said shaft means and thereby said feed roll, and

means for expanding the diameter of said feed roll When it is in position overlying said hopper and document cards so that the peripheral surface of said roll is brought into contact with a document to be fed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS EDWARD A. SROKA, Primary Examiner 

